Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of alleged drug use by Mrs X’s neighbour. The law prevents us investigating this.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has not dealt properly with illegal drug use by her neighbour, a Council tenant. She says she and her family experience fumes from the drug use.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X states the neighbour she complains about is a Council tenant. She is unhappy the Council housed that tenant so near her family. Mrs X also expresses dissatisfaction the Council has not acted to deal with the matter since she reported the regular drug use. She says the Council wrongly told her the neighbour did not use drugs.
6. Fundamentally, Mrs X’s complaint is that the Council, as the landlord, has not acted properly in allocating the property and in its later response to allegations of drug use. This relates to the Council’s management of its social housing in its role as a registered social housing provider. Therefore the restriction in paragraph 2 prevents us investigating this.
7. Illegal drug use would also be a criminal offence. Mrs X can report it to the police. Only the police, not the Council, could take some of the steps Mrs X wants, such as searching the neighbour’s home for drugs.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the law prevents us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman